Round-bale cotton-compress.



's. H. DUNLAP. ROUND BALE COTTON COMPRESS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, 1913.

Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

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ROUND BALE COTTON oommzss. APIPLIQATION'FILED AFB. 8, 1913 v 1,087,002,, Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

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' Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

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S.H.'DUNLAP. v ROUND BALE COTTON GOMPRESS.

7 APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, I913. 1,087,002;

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ROUND BALE GOTTON comrness.

. V APPLIOATIONVIILED APR. 3. 1913'.

Patented Feb. 10, 1914.

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MN/knew I @x M S. H. DUNBAP, ROUND BALE OOI'TION'COMPRESS.

APPLICATION TILED APR. 8, I913.

. Patented 'Fb; 10, 1914.

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UNXTED STATE$ Pr-@JENT seine.

SAMUEL H. nUNLAr. OE BRYAN, TEXes.

ROUND-BALE COTTGH-BOIS'IIEBESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18,1914.

Application filed April 8, 1913. Serial No. 759,702.

a simple, reliable and efficient construction of compress of this type which may be znuintained in continuous operation, which will rapidly form bales in which the cotton is compressed to the desired density without injury to the staple, which is economical of construction and operation ancl'easy to control, which avoids unnecessary handling and waste of the cotton, and which diniin ishes the alnount of manual labor required to a nlaterial degree.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is an elevations-l view looking toward one side of a cotton 'coinpress em bodyingmy invention. Fig. :2 is an opposite side elevation of the same. .Fig. 3 is 'a vertical longitudinal section through the apparatus. Fig. 4- is an enlar ed detail sectional plan view on the line i-} of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section on the line 55 of Fig. 1. Fig. (3 is a sectional end Fig. 7 is a detailsection on the line 7-7 of Fig. tion of the core carriage and parts associatecl. therewith. Fig. 9 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 10 is a detail view of the core'tube and sleeves. Fig. 11 is a similar view showing: the sleeves in iongitudinal section. Fig. 12 is a detail cross section on line 12-12% Fig. 11.

v .The apparatus in practice may be arranged inv proximity to a gin or other source of supply, and embodies a, suitable frame structure 1 upon which is supported a. condenser or collecting chamber 2 having aninlet 3 for the feed of the cotton thereto and an air supply flue 4, through which a blast of air nisy be delivered into the condenser from any suitable source of air supply. Arranged within the upper, portion oi the con- Fig. 8 is a side eleva" I (lensing chamber 2, and preferably at the point where the inlet 3 connnuncates therewith, is a feed drum 5 carried by a trim verse shaft 6. This drum has a body prei erably formed of Wire or other screen niateriai and is open at its ends for the free whereby the dust is driven from the coit'oz', and discharged through the (l List fine 7. The air blast may, if desired, be su11 plierl from the fans or brushes of the gin. The cotton fed through the inlet 3 comes in Contact with the surface of the screen drum 5, which revolves in an upward and inward direction, and is carried into the top of the condenser chamber, into which it is thrown from the periphery of the drum by centrifuga force.

In the hottoni of the condenlserare converging guide walls forming a chute load car led by shafts 11 and 12. These rolls are preferably made of perforated sheet metal and are'open at their ends for the free passage of the circulating column of air there- Said rolls rotate downwardly and and thus take hold of the cotton and feed the same downwardly between them, whereb v the cotton is colnpressed and formed into a but. The cotton thrown from the feed drum 5 falls by gravity into the chute Without material resistance froze the lesser air prsssi'ire at this point, the air pressure being, however, suz'" the cotton again the rolls 9 and 10 so that. it will be positively taken up and forced through the said rolls. The rolls 9 and 10 are so disposed as to compress the cotton to "the desired degree and form bat having smooth faces or sides, which oat, thence passes to a delivery drum, 13, throng '1 the action of which it is transmitted inane direction or the other toward either one of a pair of presses A and B, supperframe structure on opposite sides of the vertical plane of the condensing and bat forming; mechanism, as hereinafter fully described. c

The drum 13 may be of any suitable construction and is mounted on a shaft 14, carrying at one end a sprocket gear 15. This gear 15 is. connected by a sprocket chain 16 with a sprocket Wheel 17 shaft 18 journaled upon the lower end of a. swinging bracket arm 19 having a manipupassage of the blast of air therethrough.'

cicnt to force by the 7 carried by a stub ing to a pair of bat forming rolls 9 and i0 lating handle 20. Also carried by the shaft thrown into engagement with th e gear 23 18 is a ear wheel 21 which is adapted to mesh in ependently with spur gears 2. and 23 on the bat forming rolls 9 and 10 or their respective shafts ll-and 12.

By swinging the bracket'.arm 19 in one direction the ear 21 may be thrown into engagementwith the gear 22 for transmit-y ting motion to the drum 13 tosdrive it; in one direction, and by a reverse swinging movement of the arm 19 the'gear 21 may be for the transmission of 'motion' to rotate the drum 13 in the opposite direction so that the bat may be delivered to the-bale fo'rlning'mechanism of either of the presses A and B at will.

' and 25 are provided to engage the boxing or bearing in which the :shaft 18 is journaled for holding the bracket arm and gear '21 in either .of the aforesaid power transmitting positions. It will thus be apparent that the direction of motion of the drumv13 may be reversed by a. simple adjustment of the powertransmitting and reversing gearing a hove described.

The drum 9 is driven by the frictional pressure of the cotton from the drum 10, the

shaft of which carries a sprocket wheel 26 connected by a sprocket chain 27 with a sprocket pi'nion 28 on a'shaft 29, which also carries a gear 'wheel' 30 meshing with a pinion 31 on the shaft 6 of the feed drum 5, wherehy'the drum 10 is positively driven. The shaft 6 receives lnotion from a line shaft 3:2 with which it is connected by a drive pulley 33. The gearing between the respective drums 5, 9, 10 and 13 is so proportioned as to secure a properly timed ac; tion, to'cause the production of a smooth hat of equal'thickness or density and the even and regular transmission of the bat to the acting press.- 7

The presses A and 13 whereby the bat is formed into around hale are alike in construction, so that a description of one will suffice 'for both. -The pressA, for instance, comprises a pair of horizontal rolls 8 k and 35 mounted on shafts 36 and. 37 suitably journaled on the fralne structure 1. said drums vare provided with spur gears 38 which mesh with the pinion 40 on a transmission shaft 41 carrying abewzle'd gear 42 meshing with a beveled pinion 43. on a l0ngitudinally extending shaft 44: connected by gears 45 and d6 with a main drive shaft 47 on which is a pulley 18 connected by a belt if! with the line shaft 32, whereby the said rolls 34 and 35 are positively driven. Through the medium of the gearing described the inner roll 34 isrotated inwardly and downwardly, while the roll 35 is rotated upwardly and downwardly. The gear 39 ofthe roll 35 is made of some- What smaller diameter than the gear 38 of Suitable latch hoo -5 71;

The

'the roll 34, whereby the roll 35'isfi'otated at a somewhat higher rate of speed'than the roll 34.- to set up a winding tension on the cotton and the wrapping employed to invclose the same, whereby the cotton bat will be drawn tightly around the forming core and the formed bale tightly bound by the final Wrappin The juxtaposed surfaces of the rolls 34 and 35 are disposed between the sides of a vertical guide frame, formed of oppositely arranged spaced pairs of uprights 50 and 51 fixed to the frame and extending above the rolls, the upper ends 52 of the uprights 51 being hinged or pivoted, as at 53, to swing outwardly and being connected for movement in unison and adapted to be held in normal guiding position bya bail latch 54 hinged to theuprights 50. The spaced pairs of uprights provide slotted guideways 55 to receive the ends of a core rod or tube 56,

about which the bat is wound to form the bale. Removably fitted upon this core rod is a sleeve composed of transversely divided sections 57 having at their outer ends flanges 58. These sleeve sections, about and between the flanges of which the bale is formed, are longitudinally tapered toward their inner ends and are feathered to slide upon and rotate with the core, so that they may be applied to the core for use and removed from the core after the bale is forniedto facilitato the extraction of the core. 1

The tapering form of the sections of the sleeve tends to distribute. the winding or falling pressure on the-batin the formation of the bale uniformly throughout the partially formed bale and to prevent the direct transmission of the pressure to the core, whereby an even pressure and winding action 61. the layers of the bat is secured, the formation of lul'nps or hard spots prevented,

andthe concentration of pressure atthe center of the baleavoided, thus obviating lia bility of damaging the cotton at the center of the bale, while at the same time enabling a bale of maximum density to be produced. lfnrthermore, after the bale has been formed, the sections of the sleeve may be conveniently withdrawn from the sides thereof, leaving the core 56 ready extraction and permitting flu, at the center of the bale to expand the opening and to be relieved of any slight excess pressure 'Which'inay exist.

- In practiie a platform 59 may be provided slightly above the level of the roll 35 into the plane of which the hinged section 52 of the guide frame is adapted to tilt downwardly-and. outwardly so as to allow the core to be rolled from the platform into the.

guide frame for use and the formed bole to be rolled :Erom the guide frame onto the platform, thus providing for convenience in the manual part of the work involved and guide k swung outwardly,

enabling the an'iount of manual labor to be reduced to the minimum. It will be understood, of course, that the ends of the core are free to slide vertically and re .'ol e in the slotted ,guideways, and in practice the core is initially revolved in winding direction by contact of the sleeve flanges 58 with the peripheries of the drums 34 and after which it is revolved by contact of the partially formed bale with the peripheries of said drums, the core sliding upwardly in the guideways under the pressure of the bale as it gradually increases in diameter. 'When the end of the bat is first delivered from the roll 13 to the 101184, it ispassed downwardly.under the core sleeve and between the flanges thereof, thence around the adjacentportion of the drum 35, and is then wrapped over upon sleeve, the combined rotation of the core then causing the bat to 'wind thereon, as will bereadily understood. As the drum 35 rotates faster than the drum 34;, which feeds the hat forward, it will be understood that said drum exerts a tension and binding pressure on the bat, by which the batas it is taken up by the core will be wound tightly and uniformly compressed to the d g,- sired density. I I

In order to provide for a proper resistance to the upward movement of the, core and partially formed bale, the compression of the bale to the requisite density, I provide a fiuidcontrolled resistance device comprising a carriage or frame formed of a cross bar 60 and upright arms 61, whiol'i arms are arranged to travel in the lots 55 below the ends of the core. The said arms 61 are provided at their upper ends with pivoted grab hooks 62 which are adapted to be swung down over the ends of the core and to travel in guide grooves 63 formed in the opposing faces of the standards or uprights 50 and, 51, The hooks and grooves are so formed that when the hooks are turned down to a horizontal retaining position into the grooves, the said hooks will be held from releasing movement againstthe pressure exerted by the core until the baleis formed and the hinged section 52 of the. guide frame released and whereupon the hooks may be swung back to an uprightposition to permit the baloto be rolled outwardly onto the platform 59. The cross bar (30 is secured to the upper end of a rod or stem 6-1 connected at itslower end with a piston 65 movable in an upright cylinder (35 bolted or otherwise fastened lirmly to the frame" work i. At'its lower end the cylinder is provided wlth a valved water or other fluid pressure supply and exhaust pipe (34 and at its upper end said cylinder is provided with a valved fluid pressure water supply and eX- haust pipe 68 and a vent or relief 131138 69,

the top of the core.

so as to insure which vent or relief pipe is provided with an escape valve adapted to automatically open for the exhaust of theiiuid above the piston from the cylinder when thepressure therein exhausts a predetermined degree, thus providing for a determined resistance of the resistance device to the upward movement' of the core to secure a proper degree of pressure for the formation of abale of the proper density, while at the same time providing for an automatic relief of pres-- sure'when the maximum resistance pressure is established, to prevent excess pressure upon the bale. It will,-of* course, be understoodthat water or other fluid may be employed, and that in the operation of the resistance device water or other fluid is admitted into'the top of the cylinder to establish the desired resistance to the upward movement of the piston, While water or other fluid may be admitted to 'the lower end of the cylinder to prevent the formation of a vacuum therein. After the bale has been formed and the core removed, the valve in the pipe 67 may be opened-to allow the resistance device to return to normal position by gravity, and in areadily controlled and even manner. Secured to, the carrier are rack bars 70 which mesh with gears7l,-journaled on the cylinder or frame structure, whereby an evening mechanism is produced to prevent the carriage from tiltingor cant-' ing and at thesame time avoid the transmission of any sudden increase of pr ssure from the hydraulic cylinder to the bale under formation.

It will be understoodfrom the foregoing description that the invention provides an apparatus for forming round bales of cotton which provides for the collection of the cotton and the discharge of the dust therefrom, the formation of the cotton into a bat and its even feed to the acting press, and the winding of the batin a simple, effective and automatically regulated or controlled manner to secure the desired density without undue compression of the cotton or injury to the fiber thereof. It will also be seen that the apparatus provides a double compress and simple and efl'ective means by which the delivery drum may be revolved in either direction to feed the bat to the rollers of either press, so that after abale has been formed upon one press and the latter is being primed for the succeeding operation, another bale may be in process of formation upon the other press, which presses may thus be alternately employed, making the operation of the apparatus continuous. It will further be seen that the invention provides a construction of press which insuresf the production of a substantially perfect round bale, and which admits of the appli-' cation and-removal of the core, as Well as the removal of the bale from the press, ina I ready and convenient. manner and at the expenditure of a minimum amount of time and labor.

-I claim a vertically movable core, a pair of opposed drums for receiving the. bat and Winding it about the core, and means for driving said.

of the core for winding the bat about saidcore, one of said drums being operative at a greater speed'than the other-"to exert a tightening tension on the windings, and means for opposing a yielding'resi'stance to the movement of the core away from the winding drums.

3. In combination with hat forming means, a press having a guideway, a. core revolubly and slidahly mounted in said guideway, a'pair of opposed drums arranged below the core and on opposite sides of the line thereof, means for rotating said drums at different speeds to wind and tension the bat about the core, and means for opposing a yielding resistanceto the movement of the core away from the winding drums.

at. In combination with bat forming means, a press having a guideway, a core revolubly and slidahly mounted in said guideway, a pairof opposed drums arranged below and on opposite sides of the he of the core, means for rotating said dr ditl'erent relative speeds to wind and tension the but about the core, a vertically movable carriage detachahly connected with the core,

fluid .iressure' meansior o osin a iclding resistance to the movement of the core and carriage away from the winding drums, and means for maintaining a movement of said carriage in a rectilinear'path.

v5.111 combination with bat -forming means, and a vertically movable core, a drum adapted to receive the bat'and feed it heneath the core, second drum adapted to act upon the bat to maintain it in position to wind about the core, and means for revolving said drums, said means being operative .to revolve the second named drum at a faster rate thanthe first named drmn, to exert a tension on the windings of the hat."

.6; In combination with bat forming means, a press havin a guideway formed Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commis- 1. Iii-combination, ahat forming means,

is at of uprights, the upper section of one portion of the guideway being adapted to swing outwardly therefrom, means for maintaining the swinging section of the guideway in normal. guiding position, a core revolubly and slidably mounted in said guideway, rotary drums for winding the hat about the core, and means acting upon the core for 01) posing a yielding resistance to the upward movement thereof, said means being detachable from the core when the swinging section of the guideway is thrown outward I 7. In a round cotton bale-mnchinqa condenser, bat forming means. cooperating therewith, a feed drum adapted to receive the bat from said bat forming means, presses disposed on opposite sid s of said feed drum, and means for revolving said drum toward either press at will.

8. In a round cotton hale machine, a condenser, bat forming means cooperating therewith, a feed'drum, presses on opposite sides of said drum, andgearing between the hat forn'iing means and feed drum, said gearing being reversible to drive said drum in either direction.

9.-I1i a roundhale cotton press, a condenser, bat forming rolls cooperating there with, means for driving said rolls, gears associated with the rolls, a feed drumg pre on opposite sides of said drum, and adapted to receive bats-therefrom, a movable support, a drive gear carried by said support adapted for engagement with the gear associated with either oi the but iormirg denser, having an inlet for the supply cotton thereto, a screen drum tor tending cotton from the inlet into the cond v v pa r of perforated hat forming drnn he condenser below said feed drum, a ond teed drum disposed below the hat forming drums gearing for driving the but forming drums from the upper i'eed drum, and gearing for driving the lower feed drum. from eithero'f said bat forming drun i gearing beingoperntive to reverse t. iirection ot motion of said lower teed drum.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence oi two witnesses.

SAMUEL H. BUNLAP.

Wi tnesses In'i'riinn S. Bnnnows,

\V. C. I'IARDY,

Washington, I). O. 

